Day 50 – 48hr Command Period

Hi everyone,Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Welcome to day 50 of our voyage. We finally completed our long pilotage out of Buenos Aires at 0900 this morning. Once ourÂ Pilots had disembarked we shaped a new course for Rio then set about handing over the Ship to the Youth Crew who have now been tasked with running the Ship (under our watchful eye) for the next 48hrs.Â Â Â One of the many tasks they are required to achieve during their Command Period is to write the Captains Log for tonight and tomorrow so it is fitting that Youth Crew Captain elect Sam should write tonights log. I am sure that the Youth Crew will do a great job running the Ship as I am sure you will enjoy reading about their exploits. Enjoy!Â Â Until tomorrow, take careÂ Â Yours AyeÂ Â Captain GavÂ Â Captains log 08.02.15Ola to everyone at home and abroad, Captain Sam here for tonightâ€™s captains log.Today has been another epic adventure filled day on the high seas after an awesome 48 hour stop over in Buenos Aeries, Argentina.Â Â Our time in Buenos Aeries was jam packed and adventure filled. After a long pilotage we were all tied up in the early hours of Saturday morning and once provisions were loaded at 0800 we were given shore leave and went ashore to see what this amazing city has to offer. The first thing on most peoples to do list was to get their bearings of the city and find some all important wi-fi to contact loved ones as home. In the afternoon the majority of the youth crew and a handful of staffies set off on a 4 hour tour of major sights of Buenos Aeries. This included the big parks in the north of the city, the shopping hubs in the west, Plaza De Mayo to the east and artistic town of La Boca with its colourful buildings to the south.Â Â At 1800 a sundownerâ€™s event was hosted aboard Young Endeavour with the Australian Ambassador for Argentina Noel Campbell along with Australian consulate staff, local Argentinean diplomats, Navy recruits and young Argentineans in attendance. The event was a resounding success and thoroughly enjoyed by all guests, youthies and staffies alike. It was a great opportunity to be able gain a greater insight into the Argentinean people along with getting to show the guests around Young Endeavour and share her and our newly formed stories.Â Â For our final day in BA we all went out and spent another day exploring, shopping, talking to love ones at home and making the most of our time ashore. At 1700 we slipped the lines and started the long pilotage back to sea for the final hop skip and jump to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.We have to give a big shout out to watch leader Jodie who today celebrated her 32nd birthday onboard.Â Â Today is also a significant day for the whole crew. At 0930 the Young Endeavour telescope of challenge was passed over to the youth crew and I and with that symbolic hand over and hand shake from captain Gav it signals the start of our command period during which we the youth crew take full control of Young Endeavour for a period of 48hours.Â Â It has been great to see how well everyone has taken to this awesome challenge and opportunity. Over the next 48 hours along with being responsible for all aspects of running the ship which include safe navigation, cooking, cleaning, ships routine etc of the ship we will also be given challenges to be completed during our time in command. The day was fairly routine with the traditional happy hour and afternoon siesta being the course of action for the day. It has been a great first 9 hours with our second task now successfully completed of our command period and the first night watch is just about to come up on deck in the newly formed red white and blue watches in place for the 48 hours.Â Â Until tomorrow.Yours aye captain SamÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â “Â

Latitude/Longitude:

35Â° 2' South / 54Â° 25' West

Conditions:

Currently located 220nm from Buenos Aires and experiencing moderate to strong 15-20kt NE winds with a 1.5m NE swell. Current temperature is 21 degrees.

AUTHOR: Commanding Officer STS Young Endeavour

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Day 11 – Last Day of the Voyage

Good morning Shipmates, Sailmaster Sara's final Wakey Wakey song was pumped through the Ship’s speakers to jar the crew of YE from their deep slumber after a particularly tiring day of the Community Day Sail. Activities included end-of-voyage chats for the watches, harbour furling the square sails, eating as much home made pizza, cooked by master chef Ash, as we possibly could and knocking over final command day tasks including the Slide Show. It was up on deck for a quick head count to make sure everyone was out of their ‘racks’ and ready for their final day onboard. Breakfast was followed by the morning brief on the plan for the day and then the Staff Crew weighed anchor and got us underway while the Youth Crew laid aloft for a quick harbour cruise. Navigator Seb piloted the Ship from our Athol Bay anchorage, past Fort Dennison under the Harbour Bridge, where we fired the Ship’s saluting cannon, and then into Balls Head Bay to our berth. We berthed at HMAS Waterhen at 1000 to the warm welcome of friends and family of the Youthies, waiting on the wharf for us. Once we had secured the ship alongside we invited our guests onboard, allowed them a walk around the ship to see where the Youthies had lived and worked for the last eleven days, and then we gathered everyone at midships. Sail Master Sara spoke about our adventures during the voyage and then I presented the Voyage Completion certificates to the youth crew and the Young Endeavour Award to Liv for her outstanding hard work on in undertaking the voyage and her dedication to helping her fellow youth crew members to achieve their voyage goals. We then farewelled the Youth Crew of V04/24 after a fantastic challenging and enjoyable voyage. Thank you for following our adventures and hope you enjoyed hearing about them. Yours, aye, Captain Mike

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Day 10 – Community Day Sail Sydney Harbour

Good evening shipmates, After a well-earned quality night’s sleep at anchor in Hunters Bay, Sail Master Sara woke us with another of her soothing tunes to get us on deck for a quick early morning activity. After breakfast the staff crew weighed anchor and conducted the transit to HMAS Waterhen, at Waverton. We berthed there at 0900 and prepared to embark our guests for the Community Day Sail. At 1015 we cast off our berthing lines and departed with our 34 guests and commenced our 3 hour tour of the harbour. Our Community Day Sailors were a group 30 members and staff from the Windgap Foundation. We also embarked some defence personnel as well. We again passed under the Harbour Bridge and then proceeded into Rose Bay where we set some sails and commenced sailing back towards Waterhen. Whilst on the harbour our fantastic youth crew helped us host our Windgap special guests. They encouraged our guests to participate in setting the staysails and a square sail by helping to pull on the sheets and clewlines. The youth crew also helped Chef Ash to prepare and deliver the food to our guests on deck. At 1300, after 3 fun-packed hours on the harbour, we berthed back at the southern wharf at HMAS Waterhen. Once we had farewelled our guests it was time to commence our end-of-voyage activities and preparations. The staff crew managed to organise a visit to the RAN Ship MATV Sycamore, which is crewed by a mixture of civilians and Navy staff, is a multi-role aviation training vessel. The youth crew embarked with their watch leaders and were given a 45 minute tour of the ship by some of the Navy crew. On completion they returned onboard and Young Endeavour sailed and proceeded to our anchorage in Athol Bay, which affords a great view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. During the transit to the anchorage the Youthies undertook their end-of-voyage chats, facilitated by their watch leaders, to examine if they had achieved everything in their full-value contracts they had completed at the start of the voyage. After the traditional last voyage dinner of home made pizzas, Sara gave the Youthies the Harbour Furl brief, who then donned their climbing harnesses and laid aloft to undertake the ‘Harbour Furl’ of the square sails to make them look immaculate for our ceremonial arrival at the end of the voyage tomorrow. Once that was completed, the youth crew then finished off their final outstanding Command Day tasks, which were planned for the last night onboard. These included the Voyage Slide Show compiled of photos taken by everyone. This was excellent and provided a touching reminder of what we had experienced and the beautiful coastlines and islands that we had visited during the voyage. The final activity of the day was the end-of-voyage administration, which for the youth crew included a feedback questionnaire asking for feedback on their experience of the voyage, as well as a letter for each crew member to write to themselves on their experiences during the voyage, which the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme will post to the youth crew in 6 months time. The aim of this is to help reinforce what the youth crew have learned about leadership, teamwork and about themselves from the experience of the voyage. Once these were completed the crew were encouraged to go to bed. The Ship will remain in Athol Bay overnight and weigh anchor and sail in the morning at 0900 and undertake the transit to HMAS Waterhen, where family and friends will meet the Ship on arrival at 1000. Until you hear from me tomorrow for the final instalment of Voyage 04/24. Yours aye, Captain Mike

V04/24

19 February 2024

Day 9 – Command Day Part 2

Ahoy from Sydney! For today’s Captain’s Log: the Youthies took over and completed several tasks including singing the national anthem in three different tunes as well as giving salty sea facts to start the day in a nautical way. We finally made it! After a long and weary effort of the command team and watches, we were able to fully sail into Sydney Harbour. At approximately 11:50 we anchored in Hunters Bay. To celebrate we had a groovtastic disco in the 12 berth due to excessive rainfall but the youthies made it work, having a blast dancing to Billie Jean. Afterwards, the youthies as well as the staff reflected on our efforts during command day, following the handover of the ship to the Staffies, where we highlighted what we did well, what we could improve on and what lessons we can take back to our normal lives, of which there are many. Continuing on from the previous log, with command day still ongoing. We encountered multiple problems. One of which being that mother nature didn’t bless us and gave us little to no wind to work with. However with the efforts of the Youthies we were able to successfully gather up to 8 knots of speed after a 4am tack in which the youthies persevered despite a lack of sleep enabling us to make our way into Sydney. Before our reflection the Youthies finished their day strong with a ‘Happy Hour’ cleaning session and one final dance. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging from ‘Command Day’, going aloft and furling the square sails. For dinner, Ash prepared a barbecue with steak, sausages, chicken kebabs with buns and an assortment of salads with a delicious chocolate cake for dessert. The Youthies are looking forward to the Community Day Sail tomorrow which will be a great opportunity to give back to Australia and put our sailing knowledge to the test. We have learned many lessons during ‘Command Day’, we pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone and together a crew of 24 youth were able to sail a tall ship into the harbour of Sydney. Today’s score: 9 camels and a donkey (Amazing) Until next time Rock on! Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt. P.S. Happy Birthday for tomorrow little bro, love Lil xx P.S.S. Kai, sorry I didn’t do the thing for Meg. I just remembered and will do it when back.

Thank you Tarvi, Kaeden and Matt for your narrative of today's events. Intentions are to remain at anchor in Hunters Bay, just off HMAS Penguin, home of the RAN Diving School, a place close to my heart, having spent many a day there under training as a young Officer! The plan is to weigh anchor and proceed to HMAS Waterhen, in Waverton, to pick up our Community Day Sailors from the Windgap Foundation and take them for a sail around the harbour for 3 hours. The Youth Crew will help us host our visitors and give them an experience of Young Endeavour. We will drop them back to Waverton and then proceed to anchor in the harbour where we will have a good view of the Bridge and the Opera House for the Youth Crew's last night onboard. Until tomorrow. Yours Aye, Captain Mike

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Day 50 – 48hr Command Period

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